Chinese actress Huang Yi recording the voice of the female lead in "The Warrior", the next big production from Shanghai Animation Film Studio. [Photo: ent.sina.com.cn]

Related: New Animated Feature "The Warrior" is a Mongolian Fairytale

Chinese actress Huang Yi is supporting China's animation industry by doing unpaid voice-over work for Shanghai Animation Film Studio's next big production, "The Warrior."

Huang Yi recently began recording the voice of the film's female protagonist, a charming Mongolian girl.

The actress says the work is much harder than conventional acting, but director Di Feifei has given her performance so far the thumbs up.

Singer Sun Nan is voicing the part of Huang Yi's male counterpart in the feature.

Shanghai Animation Film Studio has produced some of China's most successful animations. It says "The Warrior" has received a heavy investment of 15 million yuan or US$1.9 million. This amount of money is rarely spent on Chinese animations.

The studio says French director Luc Besson showed great interest in the movie after he watched the preview. He may even buy the copyright to show the film in French-speaking countries.

"The Warrior" is set to open in Chinese theaters this summer.